Device for controlling the load opening in boxcars and the like



DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE LOAD OPENING IN BOXCARS AND THE LIKE A. WEISZ Oct. 4, 1938.

Filed Dec. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV ENTOR. drl'hur was;

ATTORNEY.

A. WEISZ Oct. 4, 1938.

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE LOAD OPENING IN BOXCARS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig: 9

INVENTOR. 'ari'hur 'Lllis Fig 40 BY Wm 55AM ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 4, 1938 T OFF DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE LOAD OPENING IN BOXCARS AND THE LIKE Arthur Weisz, Bratislava,

or to Leo Feuer,

Czechoslovakia, assign- New York, N. Y.

Application December 2, 1937, Serial No. 177,668

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a device for controlling the load opening in the wall of a box car or the like. Box-cars and similar vehicles are conventionally equipped with sliding .5 doors or with doors hinged to the frame of the load opening in the wall of the vehicle. Such doors are usually so arranged as to cover the openings at the outside :of the respective wall. However, doors of the mentioned type are not serviceable if the car is to be used for the transportationof goods in bulk, particularly of granular goods, such as grain,:frequently requiring a tight sealing of the loadopening substantially up to the level of the goods, and at least some free opening above said level.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device which may be mounted within a box-car .or the like, either removably or for good, and which permits to close the load opening up to the required limit.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a device forthe said purpose, which may beused either instead of or in addition to the conventional doors present in a car.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for the said purpose, which does notor at least only inconsiderably reduces the loading space .of the vehicle to applied.

'The invention essentially-comprises two guide rails laterally of the load opening anda plurality of individual boards of wood or other suitable material, said boards fitting one upon the other one'with'their horizontal edges and being guided by said rails and adapted to be moved vertically in the rear of the load opening.

The invention further consists 'in means for arresting said boards when lifted beyond a predetermined level, and in a cover-provided aperture in one or several of said boards. Such apertures serve to partially discharge the goods and to release the pressure of the goods against said boards prior to the complete discharging.

Further objects and details of .the invention will be apparent from the descriptionhereinafter and the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof by Way of example.

In the drawings I Fig. .1 shows a longitudinal section of a railroad box car equipped with the device .according to .the invention. 4

Fig. 2 is a section along lineZ-Z of Fig. 1.

'Fig. 3 is a partial section along line .3-3 of Fig. 2 ona largerscale.

which said device is Fig. 4 shows a vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3 of one of the boards.

Fig. -5 is a side viewof parts, partly in section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a modification of parts similar to Fig. 3.

Figs. 7 and 8 are elevations of a portion of a rail with board-arresting means, a board being shown in two different positions respectively, and

Fig.- 9 is a section along line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a section similar to Fig. 3, of a modification.

Fig. 11 is a vertical section, in part, of acar with the modification of Fig. 10.

In order to illustrate my invention, I have shown a railroad box car of conventional design, which is equipped with the new device. The same device may be used with equal result in vehicles of any kind, as for instance in trucks, in which the load varies as to its character. In the drawings, the box car I comprises two longitudinal side walls 2 and 3 with load openings 4 and 5 respectively therein. 6 is the top-of the car, and l a conventional sliding door which may be shifted in front of opening 4 or aside to .permit loading and discharging. The sliding door of opening 5 is denoted by 8. It is obvious that a car provided with sliding doors in front of the load openings is not useful for the transportation of granular goods such as grain, because, on the one hand, the car could not be loaded to its carrying capacity, and because, on the other hand, grain would continuously pour out through the gaps between the doors and the car walls.

The new device for adapting the car for the requirements of transportation of goods in bulk, particularly of grain, comprises .two guide rails 9 and I0 of any suitable cross-section, laterally of the opening l. In the embodiment of Figs. 1 40 to 3, the rails are arranged within the car and are attached by suitable means to wall 2. The connection between the rails and the car Wall may be performed by screws H in order to permit easy removal of the entire device when .not 45 in use. The rails have a curved portion 12 near the corner between the wall 2 and the top :6 of the-car and a substantially horizontal portion l3 beneath the car top. If, as shown in the example i of Fig. 2, there are two opposite load openings 50 4 and 5 .in the walls 2 and 3 respectively, the rails may be continued along the sides of opening 5, to form an inverted U mounted on the floor 50 of the car.

Coordinated to each opening is a plurality of 55 Near their ends, the individual boards 14 are provided with means for engagement with rails 9 V and I0. Said means may consist in hook-like projections I5 secured to boards 14 and engaging the channels of rails 9 and H) as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Thus guided, the boards may be individually shifted upward from their position as shown for those of opening 4 at the left hand side of Fig. 2, to a position below the car top 6 as shown with respect to the boards l4 of the right hand side -of Fig. 2. In order to permit an easy passage of the boards through the curved rail portion l2, hooks l5 are of such height that there is a certain gap between the boards and the rails when the hooks engage the inner flank of the rails. This gap also permits that the boards may be shifted with very little friction. In order to decrease stillmore the frictional resistance, hooks l5 may be provided with antifriction rollers l6 as shown in Fig. 5. The said gap, however, would be objectionable at the lower portion-of rails 9 and I up to the height to which granular goods may be loaded. For this reason fillers I'I are provided which are tapered at their upper ends It! to permit the boards to mount these fillers when theboards are lowered from their position below the car top. The friction between the boards and the fillers prevents shaking of the boards and undesired lifting owing to road shocks. The closing of the gap at the lower portion of rails 9 and It] may also be performed byother'means as for instance shown in the modification of Fig. 6, in which channels l9 and 20 are provided at the rail 9 and board M. A rod 2! of suitable cross-section may be loosely inserted from above between channels i9 and 20. The pressure of the granular goods will urge parts 19, 20 and 2| tightly together to prevent any leakage.

- the upper edge of the lower one of the adjacent boards. The pressure of the goods will then bend the strip into engagement with the lower board to close any existing gap.

Each board 14 may be provided with handles 23 to facilitate the shifting of the boards along rails 9 and It]. At least the lowest of the boards has, preferably, an aperture 24, closed by a slide 25 at the outside of the board. Slide 25 is movable in guides 26, so'that aperture 24 may be opened for a purpose described hereinafter. Other boards or even all of the boards may have similar openings with slides. 7

Means for stopping the boards in their position near the car top may be provided'as indicated at 21 in Fig. 2. In the preferred form of Figs. '7 and 8, such means comprise a hook-shaped member 28 and a wedge shapedpart 29 both attached to the rail 9. Similar members may be also attached to rail l0. Wedge 29 has a downwardly inclined slope 30 and a steep face 3!, and is resting on the floor of the car.

arranged within the rail channel. The hookshaped member 28 projects, outside of the rail, towards the path of the boards l4. The latter are provided with projections 32 so formed as to pass through the opening of hook 28 when the pertaining rail-engaging member l rides upward slope 30, and to be located below hook 28 when member [5. has .dropped from said slope to bear against face 3|.

The device according to the invention operates in the following manner. In order to load the car with goods in bulk, boards M of all loading openings are brought into the position as shown at the left-hand side of Fig. 2 with slides 25 in front of the apertures 24, and the lowest board The goods in bulk are loaded through the free portion of opening 4 up to the required level which is below the upper edge of the topmost board I4. The pressure of the goods will urge the flexible strips 22' to bear against the boards and to close gaps therebetween. Similarly, the boards are pressed against fillers I! attached to rails 9 and ID, to prevent any leakage between the boards and the rails. If there is a sliding or other door present at the outside of the car, such door may be closed and sealed after the loading is completed.

V In order to discharge the load, first, the outside doors if present are to be opened. Thereafter, the slides 25 are removed from apertures 24 to permit a partial discharge-of the granular goods. Simultaneously, the pressure of thegoods against the boards decreases. When the pressure is sufficiently reduced thetopmost board may be lifted and pushed upwards until its lower railengaging hooks 15 have travelled over slopes 30, and its projections 32 have passed thestop hook 28. Fig. 8 shows a board M with its'lower (right hand) books 15 on the slope 30 and its projection 32 about to pass hook 28. Afterhaving entirely passed the hook 2 8 and being let loose, the board will slide backon the curved portion 12 of the rails until the rail-engaging hooks I5 bear against the faces 3| of wedges 29, andprojections 32 are in the position relativeto hooks 28 as indicated in Fig. '7. As soon as the pressure of the load against the lower boards has sufiiciently .decreased, one board after the other may bepushed upward in the same manner thereby advancing the preceding board or boards along the substantially horizontal rail portions; 'l3.- When the originally lowest board is stopped behind the, wedges 29, the load opening Sis entirely free and the car may be completely discharged, as shown inFig.2. j. I 7

With all boards below the top of thecar in the position as indicated in the right hand part of Fig. 2 the device occupies almost no space at all which otherwise maybe useful asloading sp ce if the car is to be used for goods other than goods in bulk. If between two successive charges of goods in bulk along period of time is intermittent in which the car must be used for other purposes,- the device according to my invention may be easily removedby unscrewing the screws H with which the rails 9 and I0 are secured to the framework of the car. The same device may also be alternately used-for different cars of equal widths of their load openings. The new device is particularly useful in thetransportation ofgoods in bulk and granular goods such as grain. It may be used with advantage also, in the transportation of animals such as cattle or horses, and of loads requiring mu'ch ventilating ai'r.

In the modification illustratedby Figs; and

11, the rails 35 and 36 are parts of the car structure proper, in fact they form the posts of the load opening M with their vertical portions, and the roof-beams with their upper substantially horizontal portion. A wedge piece 38 fills the corner between the roof, the wall and the curved portion of the rails. In all other respects the device is the same as hereinbefore described.

Many alterations and modifications of the illustrated form of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and may be practiced without departing in any way from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. A device for controlling the load opening in the wall of a box car and the like, to adapt it for the transportation of goods in bulk, comprising guide rails adapted'to be secured to a car laterally of its load opening each rail including at least two flange surfaces parallel to each other and to the plane of the load opening, a first one of said flange surfaces facing the inside of the car, and a second one facing the outside of the car, a plurality of individual boards fitting one upon the other with their horizontal edges, said boards being adapted to engage with their outer surfaces portions of said first flange surfaces, and to be moved vertically in the rear of said opening so as to close at least the lower portion of said opening when lowered, and rail-engaging members secured to said boards and adapted to engage said second flange surfaces.

2. A device for'controlling the load opening in the wall of a box car and the like to adapt it for the transportation of goods in bulk, comprising guide rails adapted to be secured to a car laterally of its load opening, said guide rails including flange surfaces facing the inside of the car, a plurality of individual boards fitting one upon the other with their horizontal edges, said boards being guided by said rails and adapted to be moved vertically in the rear of said opening so as to close at least the lower portion of said opening when lowered, said boards being so arranged relatively to said rails as to be pressed by a load of bulk in the car with their outer surfaces against said flange surfaces, and strips of flexible material attached to the inner surfaces of said boards near their lower edges and adapted to overlap the upper edges of the adjacent boards respectively.

3. A device for controlling the load opening in the wall of a box car and the like to adapt it for the transportation of goods in bulk, comprising guide rails adapted to be secured to a car laterally of its load opening, said guide rails extending substantially from the bottom of the car upward and at least partly across the car near its top, a plurality of individual boards fitting one upon the other with their horizontal edges and having a length greater than the width of said opening, said boards being guided by said rails and adapted to be moved vertically in the rear of said opening so as to close at least the lower portion of said opening, when lowered, and to give substantially the entire opening free when raised and moved along said rails below the top of the car, and means for closing gaps between said boards and said rails near the lower portion of said opening,

comprising first channel-shaped members along the lower portion of said guide rails and second channel-shaped members along the outer face of said boards opposite said first members, and elongated members adapted to be inserted into the hollow spaces of the opposed first and second channel-shaped members,

4. A device for controlling the load opening in the wall of a box car and the like to adapt it for the transportation of goods in bulk, comprising guide rails adapted to be secured to a car laterally of its load opening, each rail including at least two flange surfaces parallel to each other and to the plane of the car opening, a first one of said flange surfaces facing the inside of the car, and a second one facing the outside of the car, a plurality of the boards fitting one upon the other with their horizontal edges, said boards being adapted to engage with their outer surfaces portions of said first flange surfaces, and to be moved vertically in the rear of said opening so as to close at least the lower portion of said opening, rail-engaging members secured to said boards and adapted to engage said second flange surfaces, the distance of said rail-engaging members from the outer surfaces of their associated boards being so selected as to prevent said members and boards from simultaneously engaging said rails, and fillers attached to the lower portions of one of said flange surfaces for closing gaps between said rails and said boards when the latter are lowered.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which said fillers are wedge-shaped at their upper ends.

6. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which said rail-engaging members include anti-friction rollers, the diameter of said rollers being so selected that the latter do not engage said rails when the 'outsides of the boards are in engagement there- With.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which each board is provided with four rail-engaging members, one near each of the corners of the board, each member having a rail-engaging portion in spaced relation to the outer surface of the associated board, whereby a portion of one of said rails may enter the gaps between said rail-engaging portions and associated board, said gaps being sufficiently wide to permit said boards to pass curves of said rails.

8. A device for controlling the load opening in the wall of a box car and the like to adapt it for the transportation of guide rails adapted to be secured to a car laterally of its load opening, each railincluding a flange parallel to the plane of the car opening and being directed towards the flange of the opposite rail, a plurality of individual boards fitting one upon the other with their horizontal edges, said boards being adapted to engage with their outer surfaces portions of the inner surfaces of said flanges, and to be moved vertically in the rear of said opening so as to close at least the lower portion of said opening when lowered, and rail-engaging members secured to said boards and adapted to engage the outer surfaces of said flanges.

ARTHUR WEISZ.

goods in bulk, comprising 

